ZAID BIN HARITH (RA).pdf

1. DEVOTED COMPANIONS
INTRODUCTION
The Holy Companions (May Allah be pleased with Him), that is, the followers of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are those great personalities of the world, who
are superior to and greater than anyone except the Prophets and Messengers of Allah
(peace be upon him). By their achievements they earned the pleasure of Allah and His Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him).
When we read the life histories of the Holy Companions, we feel a longing to follow their
example. We feel an urge to be from in our beliefs and to establish the faith of Islam. We
believe that had not Allah created those wonderful people; our religion would not have come
to us in its pristine from. Allah had caused those noble Companions of our Holy Prophet
(peace be upon him) to safeguard our religion. Next to the lives of the Apostles of Allah
(peace be upon him). It is the lives of these sages which serve as the best models for us.
The manner in which the Holy Companions went forward with the Islamic movement, the
scarifies which they made in support of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), and the zeal
and enthusiasm with which they worked for spreading the message of Islam, carry a good
lesson for all human beings of the world, specially the Muslims. For a long time now there
has been a feeling that the life-stories of those torch-bearers of Islam should be presented
to our children and young persons, boys and girls, for correcting the ills of our present
society. This book is intended to fulfill this need and it is hoped that it will be of benefit to
our young generation and shall impart especially to them desirable training on the Islamic
way of life. May Allah accept this work and reward us in the hereafter
Mail Khairabadi
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2. (Allah be pleased with him)
Harith, father of Zaid came from Yemen. Hadrat Zaid (Allah be pleased with him) was also
born in Yemen. He was still a little child when his mother undertook a journey to her
parents’ home town with him. On the way they were waylaid by some dacoits who snatched
the child away from her and sold him into slavery.
The child was destined to be a great man so much so that he was to be one of the dearest
to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). As destined by Allah Zaid was brought up by
Hakim bin Hizam, the nephew of Hadrat Khadija, the mother of faithful. He presented the
child to the aunt. Hadrat Khadija gave him away to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
Ignorant of the Will of Allah, man is by nature very impatient. On the one hand the child
was blessed with the bondage of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)-a bondage which
was to be envied later even by the men commanding highest positions in the Islamic
Society. On the other hand the parents had lost their peace of mind on account of the
separation of their child. The poor souls did not know what was in store for him. They
mourned their son day and night and searched for him every where. Many a years passed
away and the poor parents could not get any clue of their lot child.
Once a group of people from Yemen came to Mecca to perform Hajj. As soon as they caught
sight of Zaid, they at once recognized him. Going back to Yemen they conveyed the happy
news to the poor father. He at once started for Mecca along with his brother taking some
presents with him. They went to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and after bomage
said, “O noble son of Abdullah! O noble grandson of Abdul Muttaib! You are the noblest man
of your community. You belong to the sac city of Ka’aba. You are the defender of Ka’aba.
You help persons in distress; you feed the prisoners. We have come to you with the prayer
that you kindly set your slaves free, who is our son. We are ready to pay whatever ransom
you ask for.”
The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whom do you speak about?”
“We are talking about Zaid.” was the reply.
When the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) heard the name of Zaid, he paused for a while.
He had brought up Zaid as if he was his own son and loved him to the core of this heart.
The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Harith, “Do you require anything else?”
Harith said, “No”.
The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Well! Call for Zaid and leave it to him. If he
chooses you he will be yours. If he prefers me then by Allah, I am not a person who does
not like him who likes me.”
Harith, father of Zaid, accepted this condition. He thought that Zaid was only a slave and in
view of the miserable condition of the salves thought that his son must be suffering the
ordeals of slavery. Little did he know that Zaid was in the service of that blessed person
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3. who uplifted the slaves to a position about the masters and whose mission was to elevate
the slaves to the highest standards of humanity?
Zaid was called in. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him, “Do you recognize
them?” Zaid said, “Yes Sir, this is my father, and there is my uncle.” The Holy Prophet
(peace be upon him) told him the whole story and said, “Do you know who I am? You know
the way in which you lived with me. It is now up to you. You may either choose me if you so
desire, or you may go with your father and uncle.”
Hadrat Zaid was fully conscious of the blessing which he enjoyed in the company of the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him) and he also knew the beneficial effects of the training which
he had received from the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). He therefore, said,
unhesitatingly, “Only you are my parent.”
Zaid’s father and uncle were wonderstruck on his words and said, “Alas Son, you prefer
slavery to freedom and reunion with your father and uncle and the family!” He said, “Yes, I
have seen such traits in his Holy personage that I do not regard anybody greater than him.”
Hadrat Zaid’s conversation with his father kindled the love of the Holy Prophet (peace be
upon him) for him. He took him to Ka’aba and proclaimed, “From today Zaid is my son. I
will be his Trustee and he will be my ward.” This announcement made Harith and his
brother very happy and they left the son with great pleasure in the service of the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him) and departed cheerfully.
A few days later when the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was entrusted by Allah with
the mission of Islam and he presented it to the people. Zaid embraced Islam at once along
with Hadrat Ali (Allah be pleased with them).
When the uncle of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) Hadrat Hamza, embraced Islam the
Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) tied Hamza and Zaid in bonds of brotherhood. With the
blessing of Islam Zaid came so near to Hadrat Hamza that whenever Hadrat Hamza went
away he confided every thing to Zaid only. Not only this, Zaid’s stature rose still higher. The
Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) married his governess Ummi-i-Aimen and his cousin
Zaniab to Zaid. Regarding Ummi-i-Aimen the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) once said,
“If anybody wants to marry the most blessed woman he may marry her.” Zaid could nor
afford to miss such an opportunity. He at once offe himself although Ummi-i-Aimen was
much older in age than Zaid.
When Hadrat Zaid migrated of Medina, he was decla as a brother of Hadrat Usaid bin Jafar
Ansari (Allah be pleased with him) who was a dignitary of Medina. Imagine the height to
which salve is elevated when he comes under the shelter of Islam. Hadrat Ayesha (Allah be
pleased with her) says that when the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) sent any military
expedition somewhere which included Zaid he was invariably nominated as the leader of
that expedition. He was thus nominated as the leader of that expedition. He was thus
nominated to command the army nine times and very senior companions of the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him), like Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat Umar Farooq, (Allah be
pleased with them) served under his command. The Holy Prophet’s care had developed in
such a qualities and character that none else enjoyed more esteem than Zaid in the eyes of
the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) could not excel Zaid. As for his valour and courage
he never retreated even in any fight for the causes of Islam. Whenever the Holy Prophet
(peace be upon him) went outside Medina, he nominated Zaid as his successor. Zaid on his
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4. part should the responsibilities so well that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was
entirely satisfied with his performance.
The Battle of Mo’ta was one of the most significant wars fought in the life-time of the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him) the Muslim army in this war included several great
companions such as Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat Umar Farooq and Hadrat Jaffar Tayyar (Allah
be pleased with them) and many others but the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)
nominated Zaid as its Commander. When Zaid laid his life in the fight, the Holy Prophet’s
eyes were filled with tears out of love for Zaid and appointed Usama, son of Zaid, as
commander of the re-organized army.
The fact is that since Zaid had made the mission of his life to seek the pleasure of Allah and
His Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), his position was elevated by Allah and His Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him).
After the death of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) Hadrat Ayesha (Allah be pleased
with her) said, “If Zaid was Alive, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) would have
nominated him as his successor.”
May Allah have mercy upon these great companions and enable us to follow their footsteps.
It is a fact that the lives of such companions are the models for us to follow after the life of
the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
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